Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Cafe Oromia Changing Its Name To "Soretti's Ethiopian Cuisine"

The closest Ethiopian option to Howard County has completed its transformation from coffee shop to restaurant.

I had reported that Burtonsville's Coffee Oromia already changed its name to Cafe Oromia. This is a casual restaurant on Rte 198 at Rte 29 that offers Ethiopian stews and even some Ethiopian breakfast options. I love injera, and several regular commentators -- including Bets, Dzoey, and Momomom have talked up this food.

Now, HowICook reports that the name -- although not yet the outside sign -- has changed to "Soretti's Ethiopian Cuisine." It sounds like they're fully converting to a restaurant, and there may even be a "secret" option of off-menu items to explore.

All the indoor signage and advertisements (little postcards) use the new name. The place is still run by the same people. I was told that the place wanted to be a Ethiopian restaurant not a coffee house. So even though they have the same coffee setup, there's no mention of coffee anywhere else. Soretti is the nickname of the lady who does the wonderful cooking.

They've been advertising a $6.95 lunch menu that they honor on Saturdays too. We had lamb wot and vegetable combo today served Ethiopian style on one plate with an extra injera and no eating utensils.

I wish they would unify all the menus (coffee, breakfast, lunch & dinner) and the off menu items and lower the dinner prices a bit. The menu items should reflect the community dining aspect of Ethiopian food and not the single dish mentality of the menus. I'm thinking all small plates served together on injera. They've already lowered the wine and beer prices. This is one of my favorite ethnic dining experiences.

NEAR: This is on Rte 198 just west of Rte 29. From Howard County, you take the first exit on Rte 29 south of the river. That exit puts you on an old piece of Rte 29 that passes an Indian temple and a garden center. Turn right on Rte 198 at the traffic light. Soretti's is a block up on the right next to a Maiwand Kabob outlet. The sign may still say "Cafe Oromia."

1 comment:

I went there a few weeks ago for dinner. Since I work in Silver Spring there are about a million Ethiopian places I have access to, but Soretti's (nee Oromia) was just as good - and in the case of some dishes - better!!

In particular there was a chicken dish I liked, I can't remember the name of it but it wasn't doro wat. I'll try to get that name. :)

(Yes I tasted every single item from the plates of the folks I had dinner with...)